Estrella (ASX:ESR) confident Carr Boyd is something special

Estrella says its Car Boyd assets have a near-term producing capability, possibly providing cashflows for future exploration and development.

The Project, located 80km north of Kalgoorlie, is a primary focus for the Company after it made a significant nickel and copper discovery while drilling into the T5 target in late 2020.

It covers the Carr Boyd Layered Complex, a 75sq km mafic igneous complex that hosts several nickel and copper sulphide occurrences – the most significant being the Carr Boyd Rocks mine.

Drilling success at Carr Boyd has continued unabated since the T5 success as the Company undertakes further exploration into what is already a very large layered intrusive.

“I have been around for 20-odd years in the nickel exploration game, and we have found a few things, but I have never been involved in a discovery of this type and certainly nothing that has the size potential of this nickel-copper intrusion,” Managing Director Chris Daws said.

“These deposits can be massive globally. This is where you want to find nickel and copper…you wish to see them in these intrusions.

We have a very committed and experienced team, and I am extremely excited to be involved with them at Carr Boyd and look forward to continued success in the future.”

Comprising three Mining Leases and six Exploration Licenses, Carr Boyd is an emerging area of geological significance following the intersection of massive nickel-copper sulphides.

The Project includes the historic Carr Boyd mine, which consisted of two mineralised pipes that produced over 200,000 tonnes of nickel-copper ore.

Estrella has recently focussed on the T5 prospect, which produced a series of significant massive sulphide hits.
In late September, Estrella revealed a maiden T5 JORC 2012-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), which underpins an Exploration Target of between 5Mt and 7Mt at 0.7% – 1.5% nickel for 35,000 – 105,000 nickel tonnes and 0.3% to 0.5% copper for 15,000 – 35,000 copper tonnes.

Mr Daws said the initial MRE for T5 is a significant milestone for Estrella. The Company has taken a major step in quantifying a sizeable Exploration Target for the Carr Boyd basal contact.

“We will continue to progress with systematically testing the 16km of basal contact at Carr Boyd, as well as test for possible sulphide occurrences above the basal contact, such as those at the Carr Boyd Nickel Mine, with drilling and geophysics.”

In addition, Estrella is ramping up work at its Spargoville Nickel Project located 20km Southwest of Kambalda, which it hopes to transition into a near-term producing asset.

The Company has recently wrapped up Spargoville resource and metallurgical drilling with robust assay results paving the way for an updated Resource Estimation at the 5A mine, the first potential producing asset at Spargoville via an open pit cutback operation.
Completion of drilling allows Estrella to proceed with bulk sampling while a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), along with mining approvals, is slated for December 2022, with the start of mining earmarked for 2023.

“Estrella has sought to broaden its focus to include the Spargoville project and the 5A nickel deposit precisely because it contains high-grade mineralisation at a time when the price and underlying fundamentals of nickel demand are strong,” Mr Daws said.

“The progress we have made to date positions Estrella to meet its target of bringing Spargoville into operation next year should the DFS be favourable.”

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